Table of Content

What you need to have

Unlike children under 6 years old, you only need an autism assessment performed by a trained psychologist or pediatrician.

<aside> ⚠️ Not all psychologists or pediatricians are trained in ADIR+ADOS. Very few pediatricians perform ADIR+ADOS.

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Step 1: Waitlist with the assessor for Autism Assessment (ADIR + ADOS)

• Assessor acuity matter
• [ ] Contact the different offices to ask about the waitlist and fee for the specific assessors
• [ ] Ask if the assessment fee includes a parent session to discuss the result after the assessment is complete (before or after the report is complete).

<aside> ⚠️ Autism Assessors vary drastically in competence with the diverse autistic profiles. The community has curated a recommendation list that is not accessible publicly. Contact Cherish Clinic for consultation and targeted referral for non-sterotypical presentations.

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Step 2a: Pediatrician (If you do not have one)

Step 2b: Pediatrician (If you have one already)

What Can I do to prepare for the assessments?

<aside> 💡 If you were referred to this guide from Cherish Clinic as a part of your screening, Christine would have likely provided instructions on which behaviours to document or record while waiting.

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• [ ] Prepare copies of third-party documentation. This can be reported by infant and development specialists, supported childcare consultants, preschool teachers, and therapists.

Camile Long has a 100-page worksheet to help parents understand what autism is and prepare for the assessment, starting from page 28 are categorized worksheets to help you identify relevant behaviours.

How can I prepare my child for the assessment?

It is important for the assessor to assess the child, not on their worst day or best day, but similar to their regular dates. Sometimes the child is too inconsolable (full meltdown or refusing to enter the office) and the assessor would not be able to perform their assessment, so it is helpful to front-load your child beforehand: That an adult who mommy/daddy likes is going to play toys with you and maybe talk to you, there will be toys. Children are typically not separated from their parents during the assessment.

<aside> 🔥 Some parents would ask their children to mask their autistic behaviours, such as reminding them to make eye contact, please do not do this. This is like trying to reduce your child’s fever before a doctor’s appointment to prevent the doctor from identifying an illness.

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<aside> 💡 If you predict that your child may not interact with a clinician at all, there are a few specific assessors who can still assess that. Please reach out to Cherish Clinic for more information.

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